Noble Team: Saved and Saves
by ZeldaRocker2014
Summary: This is my version of Halo. Basically it's just entries of when every person in Noble Team is supposed to die, but they don't Why? Six saves them. I can't tell you how.i know nobody writes about Carter and Six together so why not something new? :D
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Six looked at her helmet one last time before putting it back on again. She loved the way her silver visor looked on her helmet. Her purple armor glinted in what little sunlight that could escape through the clouds. Her armor was simple, sort of. Just a few modifications of her own that she made. Her helmet was of the CQC Variants with a UA/HUL upgrade. Her shoulders were the GUNGNIR kind. Her favorite part of her little modifications was her chest. She had the simple HP/HALO chest piece. Simple…but oh so cool. On her wrists was the UA/BRACER armor. Last but not least, for her knees she had the GRENADIER.

It felt good being in her armor again after missing in action for so many years…but that's a story for a later time. Being a Spartan once again gave her her old thrill of battle that she thought she lost a long time ago. There she was riding in a Warthog to her new team. The Noble Team. Six…I'm going to be called Noble Six from now on, she thought. She then thought about her old team. Is her new team going to be like them? She hoped not. Her last team was a stickler to the rules, strict, tight on protocol. Maybe a little too tight. But no matter, that's in the past.

Even if that team wasn't exactly the team she wanted, she had a lot of memories with that team. Not a lot, but some. For some reason, Spartans are humorless, they don't know how to let loose and have some fun…or treat each other like a family. **La familia. **That's all Six wanted all along. To be a Spartan and to have the family she never had. Six never got to meet her parents; they died when she was only a year old. A team of Spartans came in her house to investigate and found her…that's when it all started. So here she is now years later, all grown up and ready to die. Yes…I said to die. Some people say Spartans never die, they're just missing in action. Six, however, thought differently…

"Spartan, we are at your destination," the driver of the Warthog said.

Snapped out of her daze, Six looked at him. The poor thing was very young; she estimated he just turned 18. He was only a private. She nodded and stepped to get out of the Warthog when the driver spoke again.

"It's good to have you back again…eh…Six."

Six smiled even though the driver couldn't see. "It's good to be back, Kaine."

Kaine smiled and nodded as she stepped out. With a good-bye wave he turned the Warthog around and drove off. Six stared as the Warthog grew smaller and smaller until finally she couldn't see it anymore. There's no turning back now, she thought. For her it was a good thing. She didn't want to turn back, much less a chance. Her future lays right in front of her with her new team. As she walked toward the building where her team awaits, she found that she was walking differently. She had a bounce in her step, a confident sway in her hips, her arms casually swinging by her sides.

As she walked toward the place where her new team lay, she saw a guy waiting in the helicopter. He had a sort of camouflage green armor. Maybe a little bit darker than that. He looked at her with a keen, critical eye, judging her every move. All the while reloading an ammo cartridge. A little crept out at this, she kept walking as if she didn't notice him. Faintly, she heard the voice of Colonel Holland speak from the building.

"Contact with Visegrad Relay was lost last night. All signals were flat lined at 2600 hours. I responded with trooper fire teams which have been declared MIA."

Then she heard another male voice. "So now you're sending us?"

Then after what seemed like a lifetime, she finally walked into the building. Colonel Holland wasn't actually there; he was talking through the comlink in a computer. Standing there facing the computer was the guy talking to him. She couldn't see him clearly; he looked like a shadow to her right now. Then Colonel Holland spoke again.

"The Office of Naval Intelligence believes the deployment of a Spartan team is a gross misallocation of valuable resources."

There was a guy to her left sharpening a knife on his armor. His skull design on his visor and his mostly gray armor makes him look like he takes no shit from anybody. The only thing not gray aside from his visor is his red-orange shoulder armors. She moved to go out of the doorway when an arm stopped her…a robot arm. Six stared at it and almost jerked her head back until she saw the owner of the arm. It was a Spartan, female. She had short dark hair and light blue eyes that matched her armor. She quickly looked at Six, taking her in all in one glance. Then she spoke to the guy that was talking to Colonel Holland.

"Commander."

The guy turned around, but she still couldn't see him clearly. She could see his dark blue armor and the way the faint light played on his keypad. So he is the Commander, she thought. Hopefully he isn't like the other Commanders back at the Main Headquarters. All of the Commanders there were air-heads, always full of themselves, and way too cocky. They always strutted around the halls making sure the artificial light caught on their keypads. It made her sick. Those Commanders weren't leaders of a team. They were leaders of a group of individuals that just put up with each other.

That's not what a team is supposed to be like. A team is supposed to be a second family, **la familia. **That's what her first team was like. Only in her case, it was her only family. She felt that she actually belonged. It was her hope that this Commander isn't like all the other ones. She then turned her attention to a guy sitting to her right who wasn't hard to miss. He was fucking huge. His armor, the primary color being yellow, secondary red, didn't help reduce his size one bit. Then again, that could be an advantage in battle, she thought.

This guy was tan, very tan. He had short dark hair and a thick mustache the same color as his hair. The deep brown eyes looked at her as he leaned one elbow on a knee. Then he spoke.

"So that's our new number Six."

He said it so matter-of-factly. His voice was so low that for a moment Six didn't even know if he spoke. Not knowing what else to do, she stepped forward passed the woman that stopped her. Even from that distance she still couldn't see the Commander's facial features clearly. Then Skull Visor spoke.

"Kat, you read her file?"

Jeesh, he even sounds like he won't take shit, she thought. He gestured with his knife so fluently that if she had an active imagination, she would've thought he was trying to throw it at her. Then the woman spoke.

"Only the parts that weren't Covenant making."

She had a thick accent, of what language six didn't know. All she knew was Big Guy on her right was fucking huge and scared the shit out of her, Skull Visor didn't give her a pleasant first impression, and Commando Woman seemed like she knew everything about her life already. That kind of scared her. What kind of team is this? I was much better before I was even introduced to teams, when I worked alone, she thought. The Commander said nothing and turned back to his conversation with Colonel Holland.

"Anyone claim responsibility, sir?"

Six didn't hear the rest of the conversation because she was thinking. Yeah, just like all the other Commanders, full of himself, she thought. Looks like she was just another person in a group that only put up with each other. So much for **la familia, **she thought. She breathed a quiet sigh that none of her new teammates could hear. Why am I even hear, she thought. Why do I have teammates? I am one of the only few with the rank of Hyper Lethal, are any of these like me? Probably not. Maybe I should've just stayed put where I was and didn't agree to replace their Six. All I wanted was anotherfamily, and I can't have it. She snapped out of her thoughts as she heard the Commander speak to her for the first time.

"Lieutenant."

A little surprised that he talked to her she stepped toward him and the only thing that could come out of her mouth was, "Commander, sir."

His voice seemed so commanding yet gentle. Finally, she got to see her Commander's facial features clearly. Short dark hair in a crew cut, piercing blue eyes that scanned her in one glance, sizing her up. He didn't seem like the Commander that gave her her first impression on him. Maybe he's not full of himself.

"I'm Carter, Noble Team's leader. That's Kat, Noble Two, Emile, Jorge, Four and Five. You're riding with me Noble Six."

As he walked out, putting his helmet on all the while, she followed. Already I have the privilege to ride with the Commander, she thought semi-sweetly. After all, she was ranked Hyper Lethal, she was a high rank but it is still an honor for the Commander to invite you to ride with him, especially on your first day. Carter kept talking.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, lieutenant. You're stepping into some shoes the rest of the squad would rather leave unfilled."

Six stopped walking, flabbergasted. "So then I can leave the team? Sah-weet! See ya later guys!"

Acting like she was walking away from the team, she walked back toward the building. Her mind kept buzzing with alarm bells. Usually Spartans don't have any humor and if they did, it was bittersweet. Six, however, had a lot of humor and not the bittersweet kind. It was the funny kind. The kind that made people laugh and let them get closer to each other to where they are what she always wanted, a family. She just didn't know how well her knew team handled her humor.

Carter turned around and when he spoke, there was a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Lieutenant, that doesn't mean we don't appreciate your help! Come back!"

Six held her belly but held in her laughter to where it was only soft giggles and turned around to face Carter.

"I never was going to leave in the first place. Chill, Carter, you're not going to lose this woman for a while."

Carter stood with his legs spread out in a dignified stance, his arms crossed.

"Ahem, that's Commander to you, thank you very much."

Six walked toward him and when she past him whispered in his ear teasingly, "Carter!"

He turned around to say something, but nothing came out. Six turned around to look at him.

"Are you coming, Commander?"

Carter sighed and walked toward her. "I guess I am. And please, it's Carter."

Six turned around and put her hands on her hips.

"Okay then, **Carter. **You were saying?"

She hopped into the helicopter and sat by the guy in the green suit that she passed earlier. Carter went on with what he was saying.

"As I was saying, you are stepping into some shoes we would rather have left unfilled. Me, I'm just happy to have Noble back up to full strength. Just one thing, though."

He motioned for the driver of the aircraft to take off and continued. "I've seen your file, even the parts that the ONI sensors didn't want me to. Glad to have your skills set. But we're a team. That Lone Wolf stuff stays behind. We're clear?"

Six nodded then added wryly, "Got it, Carter."

The aircraft took off. While they were flying the guy sitting next to her said, "Welcome to Reach."

Six nodded and said, "Glad to be here."

Unexpected, he spoke again, "My name is Jun, I'm Noble Three."

Six extended her hand to shake his, "Nice to meet you."

He took her hand and shook it. Then Six heard static in her STATCOM.

"Welcome to my home Six, this is Jorge. If you need any help at all in battle I'm the guy to go to."

Six held back her laugh. "I know. You're fucking huge."

Jorge let out a deep laugh and so did Carter and she heard Kat laugh on her STATCOM. Then Kat spoke.

"Six, this is Kat. I'm probably going to be your partner if the team ever splits up for a mission. Us women need to stick together anyway."

Six nodded. "I agree. I believe we're going to be the one's saving the men's asses."

"Six, this is Emile. I assure that if you're going to saving somebody, it ain't going to be me."

Six giggled. "I agree, Skull Visor."

Carter spoke to her again. "Please, if anyone going to be saving anyone, it's going to be the men saving the women. Women are always too loud to think clearly themselves."

Kat scoffed. "Are you kidding me? Do you know how loud you are in my STATCOM before, during, and after a battle? It's like having a dying elephant screeching in my ears."

Everyone laughed. Six decided to add, "Somebody remind me to turn off my STATCOM before a battle!"

Six relaxed in her chair. I have it, she thought. The one thing she always wanted. She has a great team, a great Commander, a great woman friend, great friends altogether. And she has a family. **La familia. **


	2. Chapter 2: Long Night of Solace

Chapter 2: Long Night of Solace

The **Long Night of Solace is** a big supercarrier…and it scared the hell out of her. No, not in an actual live horror film way, although sometimes that's what a war ends up being. It just kept her on her toes, her squad and even herself expecting a horde of aliens around every corner. She was at the bridge right now, hiding, her and her squad's presence unknown to the aliens. She looked at her squad, each behind a wall or the ramp. She spoke into her STATCOM.

"Of course, we will have to clear the whole damn place. I'll throw a grenade. As soon as it explodes, rain hell. Got it?"

She got quiet murmurs of "Yes, sir," in her STATCOM. If it wasn't a serious moment, she would've corrected them and said she does not have a peanus. She would've said it that way too, just for laughs. Sighing, she held a grenade in her hand, her other hand ready to pull the pin, and her assault rifle tucked underneath her elbow. . An Elite accompanied by a Grunt was walking her way, heading for the hall that one of her troops were hiding in. She quickly took out the pin and threw it at the Elite's feet, preparing her assault rifle. The Elite grunted and the Grunt looked at it in wonder. A moment later, the Elite flew back with scorch marks in his armor and the Grunt had his head blown off, both lying very still.

With war cries of their own, her squad ran into the battle. Six shouted along with them, running out of her hiding place and loading her gun. . Different colored plasma blasts were wildly shot in their direction as they came out. Her first victim was an unlucky Grunt that had his back turned around, trying to get the soldier that reloaded his gun behind a ramp. She stood very close to it and still it didn't notice. Shrugging, she swiftly pummeled the Grunt to death. Plasma sizzled on her shield. She turned around to find plenty of Jackals. In her mind, it seemed like they were mocking her. She took her assault rifle and took quick aim at their heads above their shields. She fired it, only one bullet needed to kill each.

She heard a strangled cry in her STATCOM. She looked around to find one of her soldiers lying on the ground with a chest wound. She started to walk toward him to get him to safety when an Elite jumped down from the higher floor and shot him to death. Six twisted her gun to hit it in the ribs, elbowed it in the chest and pulled back to elbow it in the head. The Elite's shield went down and Six demagnetized her sniper rifle from her back and shot it three times in the chest before it finally went down. She magnetized the sniper rifle to her back again and ran to meet her next foe, another Elite.

The Elite turned around and Six darted behind a shield when it started shooting. Past the Elite was the body of another one of her troops, his eyes now staring into space with a glassy look. I didn't hear him in my STATCOM so he must have went down without a sound, she thought. She looked at her bullet counter on her assault rifle. Three. She reloaded her gun and ran toward the Elite, shooting straight at his chest. The Elite let out its deep battle cry and ran toward her. It swung its fist to her head and she ducked, hitting its knee with the handle of her assault rifle. It cried out in pain, and Six repeatedly shot it until it fell down and then shot it again to make sure it was dead. Son of a bitch, she thought. It was then she realized that the whole room was quiet. Too quiet. There were no plasma blasts, or the sound of an assault rifle being shot. She looked around her. There was no living thing in the room except for her. Her whole squad was dead, every alien was dead. Grunts, Elites, Jackals, humans, their bodies scattered all about the room. She looked down at the floor. Blue, green, red, and purple blood was spattered on the floor and even a short distance up on the walls. For just a moment, it looked kid-like to her. Like a young child took paint and splattered it all over the room without its parents' permission. Just for a moment. Then reality came back and told her it was blood, it wasn't just paint.

With her assault rifle in one hand, she walked around all of the dead bodies looking for the panel that could activate the refueling sequence. As she walked she looked at the scene around her. Jorge was right about the view after a battle. When you stand victorious and watch your enemies fall, in a way it is beautiful. She didn't know what way, just some way. She looked up from the ground to see the panel in front of her. When did she stop walking? She shook her head and pressed the button that activated the refueling sequence. There was static in her STATCOM as Colonel Holland communicated with her.

"Well done, Noble Six. Uppercut initiated. Corvette is under way."

She breathed a sigh of relief and sat down for a second, looking at what was once a battlefield. Her rest didn't last long. Once again she heard the static in her STATCOM. Once again another job has to be done.

"Six, our ride out of here is taking heavy fire. Get back to the hangar."

Sighing, she got back up and started running back to the hangar. She stopped at every corner, looking around it to see if there were any aliens waiting for her. When she thought it was clear she would dart to the next corner and this process kept going until she finally made it to the hangar greeted by the deep grunts of Elites, the babble of Jackals, and the rapid fire of Jorge's detached turret. She took a deep breath and reloaded her assault rifle. There was static in her STATCOM once again. She let out an aggravated gurgle in her throat. If that was Colonel Holland with another mission…quickly she jumped into the fight. She shot a Grunt and spoke into her STATCOM while dodging plasma blasts.

"I'm sorry Colonel, I can't do anymore missions. I'm kind of busy doing **this**," she paused so that he could hear the Elite grunts, "so I can get off of the damned ship."

A Jackal was running toward her, shield poised in front of it. She jumped to its side and shot it in the head. Static in her STATCOM. Here comes his response. She waited for Colonel Holland's scorn.

"That sounds like one hell of a battle, what's happening up there?"

Six stiffened in shock. Carter. Her mouth suddenly went dry. Sharp pain in her back made her grunt. Her shield monitor was beeping like crazy. She turned around to find an Elite looking at her with victory already in his eyes. Why that cocky mother…she switched her assault rifle for the sniper rifle and shot it while walking toward it. Its shield was down and was dead after the next five shots. She stood with one foot on top of its chest and leaned down to say, "Fucker."

"What? What happened, Six?"

She felt her cheeks growing hot. She forgot Carter was still on STATCOM. She swallowed and spoke into her STATCOM calmly.

"Sorry, an Elite was getting on my nerves."

Carter replied with a relieved sigh. "And what's up with calling me Colonel Holland?"

She saw a Grunt running down a ramp with two bombs in its hands toward her. She shot the grenades and they exploded in its hands, killing the Grunt and a few Jackals that were near it.

"Sorry again, Colonel Holland put me on a stupid refueling mission for the Corvette. I didn't want to go on another one since I'm busy doing **this**."

She let out a low grunt as she dodged a purple plasma blast fired by a Jackal. She ran toward it, reloading her assault rifle.

"Anyway, why are you calling, Commander?"

The Jackal lifted its shield, preparing to shoot once again. She ducked low and thrust her arm, between its legs. Then she stood up and made a wide arc over her head with her arm, carrying the Jackal with it. The Jackal flipped behind her and landed flat on its back. She turned around and shot it while it was down, killing it with two shots in the chest.

"I was just checking to see if you were guys were off the ship yet."

Six caught sight of her next opponent, a Grunt cowering behind an Elite that Jorge was attacking. She stood were she was, took aim, and fired. The Grunt let out its high-pitched scream and Six shot it one last time so it would shut the hell up.

"Well, obviously we aren't off the ship yet."

Her killing of the Grunt got the Elite's attention and it ran toward her, its arms poised on its gun to shoot. She just demagnetized her sniper rifle when out of nowhere the Elite was being shot. It stopped, the deep howl hurting her ears. Not caring where she hit, she shot it five times before finally killing it. She looked at Jorge.

I could've handled that on my own, Jorge."

Jorge shrugged and said, "It was my target first anyway."

Six let out a low, soft laugh and hurried toward the ramp where more Grunts and Jackals waited for her. Carter spoke again.

"Hurry, you're making the whole team anxious with how long you're taking."

She pummeled a Grunt in the head and then said, "Don't worry, we'll both make it out alive, I promise."

There was silence on the other side for a moment and then Carter said, "Don't make a promise that you can't keep."

Offended, she shot a Jackal and pummeled another Grunt to death. Then she tapped her fist over her heart.

"Commander, it is a promise I **can** keep.

Carter sighed and said wearily, "I just hope you do keep that promise. And please, it's Carter."

"Okay then, **Carter. **I will keep that promise, don't you worry. Six, out."

She ran up the ramp where two Elites waited for her to slaughter. The Elites growled, and Six growled back. They stood there for a minute, staring each other down. Suddenly, Six let out a battle cry as mighty as a lion's and ran toward both of them. The space between them closed quickly and Six hurriedly took her sniper rifle from her back, her assault rifle in the other. She ran between them and shot their shields until they went down. Then she slid on her side and fired both guns until both of the Elite's lay dead in their own blood. She found herself sliding off the edge to the lower floor. She landed with a jarring impact and her shield monitor beeped.

She ran behind a shield, waiting for her armor's shield to recharge. Jorge talked into his STATCOM.

"I heard that mighty roar, Six. Let your inner lynx out."

Six laughed. She went back to that time after the ONI: Sword Base mission when Carter gave her that tag name.

She sat in the dimly lit hallway, her knees tucked to her chest and her chin resting on her knees. She just sat there, thinking. The glorious battlefield that she looked at only moments ago was still fresh in her mind. There was a yellow haze in the sky and tendrils of smoke drifted upward to meet it. A beautiful sight it was. Someone's shadow blocked the light and she looked up. Carter. He cleared his throat and talked.

"That was a nice job out there. You're very talented when it comes to being a Spartan."

Six shrugged. "I aim to please."

"In fact, it reminded me of a mighty lion prowling the safari. Graceful, but deadly. The Might Cat. Cat. That should be your tag name, Cat."

Six shook her head. "No, we already call Katherine Kat. How about another cat that is just as graceful and deadly. Lynx, perhaps? Instead of in a safari it's in a snow-capped mountain range."

Carter thought for a moment. "Lynx sounds just fine to me. Come on we have another job to do, **Lynx."**

He offered his hand but instead Six grabbed his forearm and Carter grabbed hers. He pulled her up and they went together…

Her shield monitor beeping jerked her out of her thoughts. An Elite was standing in front of her, gun pointed toward her while its shield was taking gunshots from Jorge. Six shook her head and put up her assault rifle, pointing her sniper rifle at the Elite. Its shield went down and Six opened fire. With Jorge and Six's firing combined, the Elite was dead before it hit the ground. Six sighed and lowered her gun.

"Is that it?"

Jorge nodded and ran toward the ship that was supposed to get them off of the Long Night of Solace. Jorge went up to it and did whatever Jorge did. Six stood there, watching him. She could hear what was surely Dot's voice, but couldn't make out her words. Jorge uttered something but that was so low she couldn't hear it either. She saw him slightly turn his head, as if looking at her out of the corner of his eye. He slapped the ship and turned to her.

"Well, I got good news and bad news."

He walked toward her and stopped in front of her.  
"This bird took some fire and her thruster gimbal is toast which means the only way off this slag heap is gravity."

She looked up at him. "And the good news?"

Jorge laughed dryly. "That was the good news."

Dot interrupted their conversation. "At current velocity, fifty-three seconds to endpoint."

Jorge put his hands on his helmet. "Yeah, yeah, yeah…," he took his helmet off and tossed it onto the floor. Six looked at it in shock and looked back at him. His dark brown eyes held the same gentleness as when she first met him.

"Bad news is, timer's fried. I'm gonna have to fie it manually."

Six's mouth went dry. Somehow she produced just enough spit to say, "That's a one-way trip."

"We all make it sooner or later. Better get going, Six, they're gonna need you down there. Listen, Reach has been good to me."

He took off his dog tag and held it in his right hand. "Time has come to return the favor."

He held out his hand with the dig tag in it, and shakily Six took it. He pulled her closer and said, "Don't deny me this."

As though without effort, he lifted her up and walked toward the edge of the hangar where the open space waited. Six's mind reeled. This can't be happening, she thought. All her thoughts jumbled until only one can be made out. She made a promise…Jorge stopped on the edge.

Six spoke quickly. "Jorge, wait. Before I go…"

Jorge cocked his head to the side. "What is it?"

Stealthily, Six wrapped her leg around his and with full force tripped Jorge. He stumbled toward the blank endless space. Six landed in a kneeled position. Jorge reached up with his free hand. Six grabbed it with her free hand and let the other hand go, his dog tag in her hand. Staggering, she stood up, the weight of him straining the muscles in her arm. His feet dangled off the edge.

"Six, what are you doing?"

Tears started forming in her eyes, blurring her vision. "I can't let you do this, Jorge. It's my fault the bird isn't working; my fault the timer is fried. If I was quicker to come here instead of lollygagging in the bridge, this wouldn't have to happen."

"Six, it isn't your fault. You don't have to do this. Just let me go and I'll fire the bomb."

Six shook her head. Jorge's helmet lay where it rolled. She reached it with her foot and dragged it toward her. She picked it up and put it on his head, locking it in place.

"I have a promise to keep, Jorge. It is a one-way trip. But like you said, we all have to make it sooner or later. I love you all like a family. **La familia. **Those were the first words I have ever said in my life. The funny thing is, I'm not even Spanish. I was just raised by a Spanish Colonel. Tell the guys that I love them like brothers. Tell Kat I love her like a sister."

Six held out his dog tag and Jorge took it with his free hand.

"This is my last good-bye. Farewell, Jorge. Make sure I do not die in vain."

Six threw him toward Reach, and heard him shout, "Six, wait!"

Six leaned against the frame of the opening and took one last look at Reach. The faces of her teammates flashed across her mind. Good-bye Kat, Jorge, Emile, Jun… her mind paused on one face. Dark military-cropped hair, piercing blue eyes. Carter. Six felt the tears run down her cheeks. Good-bye, Carter. She looked at the Slipspace bomb, and looked for the button that will surely mark her death. It wasn't hard to find. It was the only green button on it. She pressed it and the built-in clock counted down from t minus ten seconds…

She walked back to the edge of the hangar and looked out at Reach once more. T minus five seconds…she closed her eyes and waited for her death to come. T minus one…all at once a burning pain spread throughout her body. Debris flew past her and hit her, bruising every part of her body. She flew out into space, the burning pain all over her body. She closed her eyes and took her last breath as she fell toward Reach…

Jorge stood there, looking at what once was the great city of New Alexandria. He waited for the team to come out and greet him, waited to tell them the news. Finally, he heard the voices of his teammates coming toward him. He turned around and saw them laughing. We would have never laughed…and then Six came here, he thought. She gave us laughter. She gave us the confidence that we once lost. He jogged toward him, clearing the space in five long strides. Carter looked at him.

"Welcome back, Jorge. Glad to hear your mission succeeded. Where's Six?"

Jorge realized they were all looking behind him, waiting to see the purple armor of Six.

"Six…Six did what she thought was right…and now she's in a better place."

The team stopped laughing instantly. Carter took off his helmet, and Jorge could've sworn there was a tear developing in his eye.

"She didn't…"

"She did."

Carter shook his head, holding the tears back. No…not another Six, he thought. Please…not her.

"But…she promised…"

Jorge cleared his throat. "She said to tell everybody that she loved them. We were her family."

Jorge took off his helmet and Kat, Jun, and even Emile took of theirs. They all stood where they were, a moment of silence in honor of their fallen comrade. No…God, why her, Carter thought. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Kat looked at him with sympathy in his eyes.

"We're all going to miss her."

One of Kat's monitors beeped. She looked at it, and then at the sky.

"Incoming object, Covenant I suspect."

"We'll mourn her death later. There will be time for it, I'll make sure."

Carter didn't even bother to put on his helmet and looked at the sky. Even from the height that it was, it looked too small to be a Covenant carrier.

"It's too small to be a ship, it must be a dead Elite," Jorge commented. Then he laughed. "Six killed a lot of them; I wouldn't be surprised if it is. She earned her tag name. Lynx."

Carter looked up again. He estimated it was only a thousand feet above them now. They all waited silently for it to fall. As it came closer he saw the glint of purple armor. Yeah, definitely Elite, he thought. The figure finally landed in a fountain not twenty feet away from his team. He ran toward it and the team followed. He stopped in front of the fountain and paused before looking in it. What he saw made his stomach and heart lurch. Six.

"It's… Six."

Jorge pushed past everybody and looked down. The rest circled around the fountain. Carter stood there, looking at her body. Then he shook his head and grabbed her body underneath the arms. He pulled her out of the fountain and laid her down on the pavement.

"Somebody give me a Health Pack," he said. Kat scrambled from her kneeling position to go get one while the others kneeled around her. Carter tried to wait patiently but time was ticking. He took off her wrist piece, exposing her hand and wrist. Tan skin. Well he knows that much about her. He took off his own wrist armor and felt her wrist for a pulse. He felt it, so tiny it was barely there. She's almost not even alive, he thought. Finally, Kat came back with a Health Pack. Carter hastily opened it. He took out the biofoam and sprayed the substance into the holes that were made by extreme heat. Now all he could do was sit there and wait.

It seemed like everyone was holding their breath, and every eye he met had that little sliver of hope in it. Ten minutes passed. Still nothing happened. The hope slowly faded from everyone's eyes. He felt for her pulse again. We're losing her…he started doing CPR, as if that would help. Everyone was watching him, hoping it would work.

"Come on, Six. Breathe…"

In her haze of unconsciousness and pain, she heard his voice.

"Come on, Six. Breathe…"

I'm trying Carter, please, she thought. She couldn't feel the pain anymore, but she felt as if she didn't belong on the world of the living anymore. All of a sudden, she felt warm. A vision formed in her head. She was lying on pavement and Carter had his head and chest lay over her body. The rest of Noble Team looked down at her, defeat in their eyes. She made a promise…She heard Carter speak again.

"Please, Six. You promised…"

Come on. Goddammit. Breathe, for the team, for Carter…

All of a sudden her eyes opened and she gulped a big breath of air. She took deep, big breaths and looked around her. Laughter and smiles spread across the whole team. Carter looked at her and smiled. He put his hand behind her head and helped her sit up. She felt warmth on her hand. She looked down. Her hand had no armor, as well as the other hand that was covering it. It was Carter's hand. She blushed and looked around. Nobody seemed to notice. She got congratulations from everybody and they kept calling her Six. No, I don't want to be called just Six anymore…

"Please."

They all stopped and looked at her. "Please, I don't want to be called just Six. Commander, not even my tag name is enough variety to suit me."

Carter frowned. "What do you want to do about it? And please, it's Carter."

"I'm not going to do anything about those two names, just adding another one. And please, my name is Opal."


End file.
